Download Myers Update 2011

Myers PSYCHOLOGY
Seventh Edition in Modules
Module 21
Operant Conditioning
James A. McCubbin, Ph.D.
Clemson University
Worth Publishers
Operant Conditioning
 type of learning in which
behavior is strengthened if
followed by reinforcement or
diminished if followed by
punishment
 different from classical because
the response does not have to
be unconditioned
Classical vs. Operant
Classical – learn associations
between events that subject
does not control
Operant – learn associations
between subject’s behavior and
the resulting events
Is the organism learning associations
between events that it doesn’t control?
Classical Conditioning
Is the organism learning associations
between its behavior and resulting
events?
Operant Conditioning
Operant Conditioning
 Law of Effect
 Edward Thorndike’s principle
that behaviors followed by
favorable consequences become
more likely, and behaviors followed
by unfavorable consequences
become less likely
Operant Conditioning
 Operant Behavior
 operates (acts) on environment
 produces consequences
 Respondent Behavior
 occurs as an automatic response to
stimulus
 behavior learned through classical
conditioning
Operant Conditioning
 B.F. Skinner
(1904-1990)
 elaborated
Thorndike’s Law
of Effect
 developed
behavioral
technology
Operant Chamber
 Skinner Box
 chamber with a
bar or key that an
animal
manipulates to
obtain a food or
water reinforcer
 contains devices
to record
responses
Operant Conditioning
 Reinforcer
 any event that strengthens the
behavior it follows – Used to reinforce
wanted behaviors
 Shaping
 operant conditioning procedure in
which reinforcers guide behavior
toward closer approximations of a
desired goal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymkT_C_NWXw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGazyH6fQQ4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtfQlkGwE2U&feature=related
REINFORCEMENT: Increases
(Desired) Behavior
Principles of
Reinforcement
 Primary Reinforcer
 innately reinforcing stimulus
 one that satisfies a biological need
 Conditioned Reinforcer
 stimulus that gains its reinforcing
power through its association with
primary reinforcer
 secondary reinforcer
Schedules of
Reinforcement
 Continuous Reinforcement
 reinforcing the desired response each
time it occurs
 Partial (Intermitent)
Reinforcement
 reinforcing a response only part of the
time
 results in slower acquisition
 greater resistance to extinction
Schedules of
Reinforcement
 Fixed Ratio (FR)
 reinforces a response only after a
specified number of responses
 faster you respond the more rewards you
get
 different ratios
 very high rate of responding
 like piecework pay, being paid for every
sandwich you make
Schedules of
Reinforcement
 Variable Ratio (VR)
 reinforces a response after an
unpredictable number of
responses
 very high rate of responding
 like gambling, fishing
 very hard to extinguish
because of unpredictability
Schedules of
Reinforcement
 Fixed Interval (FI)
 reinforces a response only after
a specified time has elapsed
 response occurs more
frequently as the anticipated
time for reward draws near
 getting paid by the hour
Schedules of
Reinforcement
 Variable Interval (VI)
 reinforces a response at
unpredictable time intervals
 produces slow steady responding
 like pop quiz
Schedules of
Reinforcement
Number of
responses
1000
Fixed Ratio
Variable Ratio
Fixed Interval
750
Rapid responding
near time for
reinforcement
500
Variable Interval
250
Steady responding
0
10
20
30
40
50
Time (minutes)
60
70
80
Punishment
 Punishment
 aversive event that decreases the
behavior that it follows
 powerful controller of
unwanted behavior
 Contributes to the shaping of a
subject along with reinforcement
PUNISHMENT: Decreases
(Unwanted) Behavior
Premack Principle
“Relative theory of reinforcement”
-more probable behaviors reinforce
less probable behaviors
(what works for one may not work for
another)
EX: Using apples to get someone to
practice the piano
EX: Using the piano to get someone to
eat apples
Cognition and Operant
Conditioning
 Cognitive Map
 mental representation of the layout of one’s
environment
 Example: after exploring a maze, rats act as
if they have learned a cognitive map of it
 Latent Learning
 learning that occurs, but is not apparent
until there is an incentive to demonstrate it
Latent Learning
Cognition and Operant
Conditioning
 Overjustification Effect
 the effect of promising a reward for
doing what one already likes to do
 the person may now see the reward,
rather than intrinsic interest, as the
motivation for performing the task
 Example:giving children who already like
reading candy for every book they finish
Cognition and Operant
Conditioning
 Intrinsic Motivation
 desire to perform a behavior for its
own sake and to be effective
 not because of an outside influence
 Extrinsic Motivation
 desire to perform a behavior due to
promised rewards or threats of
punishments
Examples of Motivation
 Intrinsic Motivation
 Working hard in school because you
enjoy enriching your brain
 Extrinsic Motivation
 Practicing a sport because you want to
win an award
 Doing well at your job so you will earn
more money
Operant vs Classical
Conditioning
Applications of Operant
(Skinner’s legacy)
 Shape learning in “small steps – provide
immediate reinforcement for correct
responses.”
 Real World Examples
 School: students know expectations,
“Caught in the Act”
 Sports: start small (basketball, t-ball, small
fields, etc.
 Work: “employee of month” Bonuses
 Home: energy programs, reward good
behavior, ignore whining